Rip Curl Pro Search San Francisco: Day 2 Photo And Video Highlights

Besides Slater winning his 11th world title, some great surfing went down on day two, delivered mostly by the power hacks of the big boys of the tour. Taylor Knox, Parko, Kieren Perrow, Brett Simpson and Owen Wright. The surf was head-high pristine beach breach conditions groomed by light offshores for much of the day.

While Slater was celebrating the title win, Owen Wright was making a big statement in the very next heat, racking up a comp-high 17.54 heat score, and looking like he’s back on track after a few mid-round losses in the last two events. “I was loving it out there,” he said afterwards. “As soon as I got out there, I got told there would be a break after Kelly’s heat I didn’t even know it had started. After that they started calling out my scores and I was thinking ‘what have I done.’ It’s just really fun out there actually.”

A few heats later, Brett Simpson put together the next highest heat score of the contest, ending Julian Wilson’s hot streak in round 3. “That was maybe the best heat I’ve had on tour,” he said. “I got a good start, finished strong, picked the right waves and held him off some decent waves. That was a big heat for me.”

Dane Reynolds fell earlier in the day, along with Mick Fanning, who logged his first last place finish in at least the last three years. Ouch.

A lay day has been called for Thursday, with onshore winds and small surf. A series of cold weather systems are due to roll through the Bay area starting today, with off and on rain and blustery winds the next few days. At this point Monday is looking like the most likely day for the men’s comp to start up again, with another decent-sized swell due, as well.

The pros will likely have a few days off and some time to explore the city and get weird. In a city that prides itself on taking the weird and crazy factor up to 11, there should be some carnage over the weekend. Just don’t go too deep into the Tenderloin, dudes.—Casey Koteen

Owen Wright (AUS), 21, current ASP World No. 2, went on an absolute rampage immediately following Kelly Slater’s clinching of the 2011 ASP World Title and tore into a steep lefthander with several power-carves and solidified the ride with a massive slob air-reverse to finish for a near-perfect 9.77 (out of 10). The impressive score accompanied his previous ride of a seamless frontside alley-oop for a 7.77 to post the highest scores of Rip Curl Pro Search San Francisco competition.

“I was loving it out there,” Wright said. “As soon as I got out there, I got told there would be a break after Kelly’s heat I didn’t even know it had started. After that they started calling out my scores and I was thinking ‘what have I done?’ It’s just really fun out there actually. Kelly winning the title didn’t really change my attitude. I really want to get a good result here and finish the year off strong. Kelly’s been amazing and congrats to him. It’s something I want to gain from him and compete against him and go for it again.”

Brett Simpson (USA), 26, pulled out last-minute heroics in a tough battle against fellow countrymen Damien Hobgood (USA), 32, utilizing his priority with just a minute remaining and unloaded a crisp carve and solidified the ride with a crucial no-grab air-reverse to post the score needed to surpass the Floridian for the victory.

Brett Simpson. Photo: jackenglish.com

“It’s funny because I beat him (Damien Hobgood) at Teahupoo and he’s a master there and he beat me in France, where I thought I might have had an advantage, so it’s good to get that win,” Simpson said. “I travel with him and C.J. (Hobgood) and they’ve taught me a lot about the tour. I was looking at the conditions this morning and just drooling. I got a sick barrel and was just inches away and I knew I had to regroup. I pushed hard on the left and had priority and got to pick the one I wanted to go on. It’s the first time it’s worked out in awhile.”

Simpson maintained his form in Round 3, defeating dangerous ASP World Tour rookie Julian Wilson (AUS), 22, to advance through to Round 4 and significantly help his cause on the men’s ASP World Ranking. “I feel like I’ve been surfing decent all year and my surfing feels there but I definitely need the points,” Simpson said. “This competition thing is a different beast and I’m learning as I go. I love it, that’s what I love about competition. Conditions like this, you’re always in it, I knew I could do it and you just have to stick to your guns.”

Kieren Perrow (AUS), 34, was deadly in his Round 2 match-up today and drove though a clean barrel to attain a 9.17 out of 10 to eliminate two-time ASP World Champion Mick Fanning (AUS), 30. “It’s what you need against Mick fanning,” Perrow said. “That was one of my better heats in awhile and I’m stoked to win a heat. We have fun conditions and I got good lefts at the start but I started getting nervous with 10 minutes left and got lucky that I got that right that came at the end. A good peak popped up and I dropped in late and got behind that first section and just pushed it. I’m stoked I got a 9, I didn’t know it’d be that good of a score.”

John John Florence. Photo: jackenglish.com

Perrow, who went on to defeat current ASP World No. 3 Adriano de Souza (BRA), 24, in Round 3 of competition, grabbed crucial points to help his cause towards requalification for the 2012 ASP World Tour. “This is a huge for me,” Perrow said. “I haven’t had a good result this year and I’d like to get one going into Hawaii. The search has been a good event for me over the years. I usually go well and I enjoy getting to go to a different location. I’ve got my family here and am enjoying it and am looking to have a good finish to the year.”

Miguel Pupo (BRA), 19, wasted little time in his Round 2 affair against veteran Kai Otton (AUS), 31, and raced through a firing left barrel to earn a 9.10 just after a buzzer and quickly backed up the ride with a 7.33. “Kai (Otton) was sitting too far out and I was on the inside watching to see if he was going to get in to it,” Pupo said. “I was saw the double up and just raced through it and came out. It’s great to start a heat like that and I feel like I’m starting to find my feet on tour.”

Pupo, who enters the Rip Curl Pro Search fresh off his ASP PRIME victory in Santa Cruz, went on to defeat fellow goofy-footer Adrian Buchan (AUS), 29, in Round 3 and hopes he can carry his momentum through the remainder of Rip Curl Pro Search San Francisco Competition. “I’m feeling great and you always feel good after a win,” Pupo said. “I’m happy to be here, I’m feeling comfortable and hopefully I can keep finding some waves like I did in the last heat.”

The Rip Curl Pro Search San Francisco is Stop No. 10 of 11 on the 2011 ASP World Title Series with a waiting period from November 1-12. The 2011 Pro Search will be broadcast live on Fuel TV, Livestream.com and live.ripcurl.com

Surfline, official forecasters for the Rip Curl Pro Search San Francisco are calling for much smaller NW swell leftovers to prevail Thursday as onshore flow builds through the day. A solid NW swell will build through the day on Friday, strongest late, before fading on Saturday. Variable onshore flow prevails both Friday and Saturday, although there will be some brief windows of light wind (especially Friday). A smaller NW swell will show on Monday with light onshore flow.